Members Login

Log in using

Not a Member Yet?

Why Join?

When you create an account with us, you'll be able to save your favourite books, make a wishlist of upcoming titles, receive newsletters about books you'll love, get recommendations tailored to you and order our books directly. Join us by creating an account and start getting the best experience from our website!

A Cruel Necessity

L.C. Tyler

Authors:

L.C. Tyler

The first John Grey historical mysteryThe theatres are padlocked. Christmas has been cancelled. It is 1657 and the unloved English Republic is eight years old. Though Cromwell's joyless grip on power appears immovable, many still look to Charles Stuart's dissolute and threadbare court-in-exile, and some are prepared to risk their lives plotting a restoration. For the officers of the Republic, constant vigilance is needed. So, when the bloody corpse of a Royalist spy is discovered on the dung heap of a small Essex village, why is the local magistrate so reluctant to investigate? John Grey, a young lawyer with no clients, finds himself alone in believing that the murdered man deserves justice. Grey is drawn into a vortex of plot and counter-plot and into the all-encompassing web of intrigue spun by Cromwell's own spy-master, John Thurloe. So when nothing is what is seems, can Grey trust anyone?'Tyler juggles his characters, story wit and clever one liners with perfect balance' - The Times'A cracking pace, lively dialogue, wickedly witty one-liners salted with sophistication . . . Why would we not want more of John Grey?' - The Bookbag

A Masterpiece of Corruption

L.C. Tyler

Authors:

L.C. Tyler

The second John Grey historical mysteryIt is December 1657. John Grey, at his cramped desk in Lincoln's Inn, is attempting to resume his legal career. A mysterious message from a 'Mr SK' tempts him out into the snowy streets of London and to what he believes will be a harmless diversion from his studies. But Mr SK's letter proves to have been intended for somebody else entirely and Grey unwittingly finds himself in the middle of a plot to assassinate the Lord Protector - a plot about which he now knows more than it is safe to know. Can he both prevent the murder and (of greater immediate relevance) save his own skin? Both the Sealed Knot and Cromwell's Secretary of State, John Thurloe believe he is on their side, but he is unsure that either is on his. As somebody is kind enough to point out to him: 'You are a brave man, Grey. The life of a double agent can be exciting but very short.' Grey just has to hope that prediction is wrong.Praise for L.C. Tyler'Tyler juggles his characters, story wit and clever one liners with perfect balance' - The Times'A cracking pace, lively dialogue, wickedly witty one-liners salted with sophistication . . . Why would we not want more of John Grey?' - The Bookbag

The Plague Road

L.C. Tyler

Authors:

L.C. Tyler

The third John Grey historical mystery1665, and the Great Plague has London in its grip. Everyone who can has fled and the only sounds are the tolling bells and the incessant cry of 'bring out your dead!'. Where better, then, to hide a murdered man than amongst the corpses on their way to the plague pit?John Grey, now a successful lawyer, is called in by Secretary of State Lord Arlington to investigate an unexpected admission to the Tothill pit. The man was, before his murder, known to be carrying a letter from the Duke of York to the French ambassador. But the letter has vanished and Arlington wants it.Grey soon begins to realise why Arlington is prepared to pay well for the document. The contents will compromise not only the duke but many others around him. But Arlington is not the only one trying to recover the letter. Somebody has killed once to try to obtain it - and is prepared to kill again. And Samuel Pepys's offer of help may not be all it seems. So John Grey is forced to set off on a journey through plague-ravaged England to fulfil his commission and keep himself safe from his enemies - if the Plague doesn't get him first.Praise for L.C. Tyler'A historical thriller, but one written with tongue firmly in cheek . . . Tyler is a witty writer, and this third outing for Grey is great fun' - Sunday Times'Tyler at his entertaining best . . . a Restoration romp delivered with aplomb and verbal artistry, a delicious slice of history in all its dark, dank and deadly reality, and a veritable stage show of witty one-liners wrapped up in an enthralling mystery adventure' - Lancashire Evening Post

Fire

L.C. Tyler

Authors:

L.C. Tyler

The fourth John Grey historical mystery1666. London has been destroyed by fire and its citizens are looking for somebody, preferable foreign, to blame. Only the royal Court, with its strong Catholic sympathies, is trying to dampen down the post-conflaguration hysteria. Then, inconveniently, a Frenchman admits to having started it together with an accomplice, whom he says he has subsequently killed.John Grey is tasked by Secretary of State, Lord Arlington, with proving conclusively that the self-confessed fire-raiser is lying. Though Grey agrees with Arlington that the Frenchman must be mad, he is increasingly perplexed at how much he knows. And a body has been discovered that appears in every way to match the description of the dead accomplice.Grey's investigations take him and his companion, Lady Pole, into the dangerous and still smoking ruins of the old City. And somebody out there - somebody at the very centre of power in England - would prefer it if they didn't live long enough to conclude their work...Praise for L.C. Tyler'Tyler juggles his characters, story wit and clever one liners with perfect balance' - The Times'A cracking pace, lively dialogue, wickedly witty one-liners salted with sophistication . . . Why would we not want more of John Grey?' - The Bookbag

The Bleak Midwinter

L.C. Tyler

Authors:

L.C. Tyler

The fifth John Grey historical mystery1668.John Grey is now a Justice of the Peace and lives in the manor house he has inherited on his mother's death with his new wife, Aminta. As the village is cut off from the rest of the world by a heavy snowfall, George Barwell is discovered dead in the woods. Grey is called to examine the horribly disfigured body amidst the rumours that the attack has been the work of the Devil as the victim had been cursed by reputed witch Alice Mardike just days before his violent death.As Barwell's father-in-law leads the villagers into kidnapping Alice and throwing her into the millpond to see if she floats as a witch or drowns as an innocent woman, Grey agrees to investigate the murder: his main suspect is the very man leading the witch hunt.But if Grey can't solve the mystery of George Barwell's death within a week, Mardike will be tried for witchcraft - and the sentence has already been decided . . .Praise for L.C. Tyler'Wit and witchcraft in a snowbound seventeenth century Essex make a potent combination in The Bleak Midwinter, a welcome addition to L.C. Tyler's fine John Grey series of crime novels' Simon Brett, bestselling author of the Blotto and Twinks series'Unusually accomplished' Helen Dunmore'I enjoyed The Bleak Midwinter enormously. Len Tyler writes with great charm and wit, and there were parts that made me laugh out loud' Susanna Gregory'Tyler juggles his characters, story, wit and clever one liners with perfect balance' The Times'A cracking pace, lively dialogue, wickedly witty one-liners salted with sophistication . . . Why would we not want more of John Grey?' The Bookbag'A dizzying whirl of plot and counterplot' Guardian'I was seduced from John Grey's first scene' Ann Cleeves